Happy Birthday Sarah

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Momzoo

I have been a bad blog Mommy. I have been very distracted by something of a personal nature for a couple of weeks, and so I forgot to do a Birthday post for my wonderful Sarah! I had posts scheduled for two weeks, and when they ran out I just forgot. Sorry!

Anyway, my third child turned 8 on the 26th of March. It is a special Birthday for us. In our religion when a child turns eight, they are old enough to choose to be baptised.

The day after she turned eight, she dawned a white dress and was Baptised by her father.

We couldn’t be happier!

How to Clean and Disinfect a Wood Cutting Board

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Momzoo

Over the past year or so I have been slowly replacing items in my kitchen with natural products and materials. Plastics being one of the major things that I am trying to get rid of. We have eliminated all plastic dishes and switched to glass or ceramic, and a few months ago I bought new wooden cutting boards. I mostly like my wood cutting boards, they are easy to keep clean and I don’t worry about stray bits of plastic ending up in my food. However there is one big draw back, I worry that I can’t properly disinfect when cutting meat, and the lingering odor when chopping onions and garlic. Washing them in hot soapy water isn’t an option I would like to us, considering I spent a good amount of money on my boards and I want them to last, well, forever. Hot water and soap dry out wood and the board will eventually become warped and crack.

So what is a girl to do?

I have a very easy solution that cover the disinfection and deodorising.

The other night we had roast chicken for dinner and I used my cutting board to carve that little bird. It was greasy and covered with chicken juice, it needed a good disinfection.

First I gave it a good all over rinse with warm water.

Once it is rinsed and wet I sprinkled the board generously with salt.

Then, taking a half of a lemon I rubbed the salt in the the board, scrubbing both surfaces and the sides.

Until the salt is completely dissolved.

The combined action of the salt and the lemon juice took care of any smell and any germs. This is a quick and simple method that doesn’t involve any harsh chemicals or soaps that would potentially ruin your nice wood cutting boards.

They’re Here!

Posted on March 26, 2010 by Momzoo

Yesterday I talked about planning my garden and ordering seeds. Well about 5 days later my packages came!

I was so excited!

I did a status update on facebook about it.

I am a nerd like that.

Beautiful new packets of beautiful new seeds! Love it.

That very same day I received two other deliveries.

15 Heritage Raspberries

10 Apache Blackberries

1 Crimson Bunch Grape

1 Flame Bunch Grape

5 Black Spanish Wine Grapes

and

1 Kieffer Pear Tree

We are adding about 125 feet of edible hedging along the sides of our property and I am so excited to get these little guys started.

There are already some little leaves sprouting, meaning they are coming out of dormancy and need to be planted quickly.

Below you can see the root and the gel they are packed in, you know you are getting good bare root products if your supplier packs them with the gel. It keeps the roots moist and helps the plants survive shipping.

I also got 10 thyme plants, all a different varieties.

Since I am not ready to plant them just yet, they get a temporary home on my sunny window seal.

Planning the Garden

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Momzoo

March is the start of our gardening season. Even though it is too early, in our area, to plant much this is when we start to clean up and prepare the garden beds for spring and summer planting. So when I woke up to this one March morning I was a tad disappointed. We had garden boxes to build and fill, a chicken coop to rework and expand and the weather had a different idea.

So I figured this would be a good time to do one of my spring projects that I really enjoy, yet tend to put off.

Planning the Gardens and ordering seeds.

So I gathered seed catalogues and got out my box of seeds and went to work.

Planing the garden this year is a bit of a different job, we are adding 100 square feet of new garden boxes and I have to figure out how to fill them with yummy veggies to eat this summer and hopefully to store this winter.

We are doing a lot of the basics, zucchini, cabbage, tomatoes, kale and adding a few new things, rutabaga, celeriac root and cauliflower. I also ordered a few twists on old favorites such as: Apollo Broccoli (a small leafy variety) and Russian Red Kale.

On of the nice things about square foot gardening it the ease of planning what to plant where and how much to plant, it is nice to see it all laid out.

From start to finish it took about 3 hours to plan and order and at the end of it all I am excited and satisfied. Now, all I have to do it wait for those boxes of seeds to arrive, and for it to get warm enough to plan them all!

What are you planting this year? Something new?

Broccoli Swiss Salad

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Momzoo

Our last, but definitely not least salad comes to us today from my neighbor and good friend

Jill

It was fun to try a salad that was a little different, being that is had no lettuce or pasta in it. My kids were a little dismayed when they spied a plate of broccoli, however they all ended up liking it. This recipe will definitely be making it into the regular summer meal rotation.

First things first, we need to make the dressing.

and here is our cast….

1 cup Mayo

1/2 cup Sugar

2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar